We, the People of Europe

In recent years we have witnessed the rise of many civil movements in Europe, ones that circumvent conventional politics. Are these movements capable of transforming the people of Europe into Europeans? And what can culture contribute to the conversation?

'Our task is not to make art in the world as it exists; our task is to make a world.'- Jonas Staal, artist and founder New World Summit

The concept of ‘Europe’ is no longer rooted in culture or society, and for a while now, the people of Europe feel no connection to the denominator ‘European’. When considering Europe, what comes to mind is usually bureaucracy, or the accessibility of political institutions. Seldom do international collaboration or cultural diversity appear on the list. Though it seems the tides are turning: in times of ever-growing anti-European sentiments, the countering rise of movements that circumvent conventional politics is evident—movements that incorporate the ideas and wishes of European civilians, as seen in Spain’s 15M, or Varoufakis’s DiEM25. Can these movements unite the people of Europe, and reconnect them to their continent? And what can culture contribute to the conversation?

Join the discussion during the Re:Creating Europe civilian parliament. A discussion with several inspiring vanguards of these civil movements including Slawomir Sierakowski, leader of Krytyka Polityczna, Eastern Europe’s largest network of institutions and activists and Jonas Staal, artist and founder of the New World Summit: an artistic and political organization that develops parliaments for stateless and blacklisted organizations all over the world.